As winter begins to cover the ground with snow, we Canadians are aware, there’s much more coming our way than just a light dusting. Shoveling snow, spreading salt, and digging out your frozen car, are just some of the “joys” winter may bring to you this season. As the costs of heat and electricity continue to rise, Jack Frost will be nipping at your pocketbook, wanting to extend his winter chills to the interior of your home. If you’re hoping to keep the cold outside, and your heating costs down, the best thing for you to do is to get your home “Winter Ready”. Here are some simply ways to winterize your home:

Clean out your gutters

Ensure the rain and snow have somewhere to drain to by cleaning your gutters. This will minimize the chance of leaks, and remove excess weight/strain from the gutters. Making sure that the water can freely flow through your gutters now, will stop the formation of icicles and ice-build up later.

Drafts can sneak in through any improper seal, so be sure to check your need for draft guards, new seals, and even weather-stripping doors as needed.

Blocking drafts that may come from improperly sealed doors, windows, and fireplaces can stop up to 70% of your heat and energy from escaping through improper seals – keeping the warm air in, and the cold air out!

Store Patio Furniture

Extend the life of your patio furniture/BBQ by protecting these items from the elements and storing them indoors this winter.

Clean the garage

Cleaning up your garage will give you an opportunity for indoor parking. No more scraping ice from the windshields and trying to unbury your car after a snow fall. Parking your vehicle indoors will both keep the vehicle protected, and give you less to do before work in the morning.

Fireplace Preparations

If you have a fireplace in your house that you plan on using quite frequently this winter, get your chimney/fireplace inspected to ensure that it is safe and clear to use.

If your home has a fireplace that you’re not planning on using, block the fireplace with window sealer/insulation kits to help minimize the escaping heat.

For more tips on winterizing your fireplace, check here to see what’s important when checking your fireplace before the season.

Hoses/Outdoor Water

To avoid a messy springtime of sorting through hoses for ones that haven’t cracked, drain the water from your outdoor hoses, and store them indoors for the winter.

Turn off any outdoor water taps to avoid freezing

Insulate Pipes

Pipe insulation kits can be used to keep the water pipes in your home from freezing.

If your home’s main heat source is a furnace, get your furnace ready for winter by making sure that it is running effectively prior to the cold nights ahead.

Check your filters on a monthly basis to ensure your home is getting clean, and proper airflow

Should your furnace need to be repaired, or replaced – consider applying to make your home more energy efficient using Federal/Provincial Tax Credits to lower the expense of replacing/repairing your furnace. Click here for more information on Energy Savings Plans.

Automate your Thermostat

Set your thermostat to automatically adjust its’ temperature setting, which can be set to be cooler during the daytime and warmer at night.

Setting a temperature will ensure you have consistent/reliable heat, but no one is cranking the thermostat to 85 and having a tropical vacation temperature in your living room

Shovels, Salt, and Snow-blowers

Don’t wait until the day after a big storm hits to pull out your snow-blower, and shovels. Take a look at them ahead of time – are any of them in need of repairs? Do you have gas in the snow-blower? Salt ready for icy mornings? If not – time to get prepared before the ice hits. Far better to have salt on hand, rather than being reminded that you need it by falling in the morning!

A home is a place of warmth and comfort, so keep those chilly winter drafts out this year by winterizing your home. The only thing better than being warm on a cold winter’s night, is your heat is staying inside with you. Don’t get caught up in drafts, get your winterizing done soon, so those -30 evenings feel like summertime.

Kim Vo

From the first discussion about the possibility of selling my house to the conclusion of the entire process, Kim was always quick to answer my questions and take care of what needed taking care of. She worked hard to make the house market-ready, and it all paid off – a good firm offer within a week of listing with many showings up to that date. If I was going to sell another house, I would talk to ...

I was extremely fortunate to have someone like Kim as my realtor. We all hope to have the perfect realtor. In this case, Kim’s knowledge, hard work and timely advice made her perfect for me because she helped maximize the value in my condo (with staging, open houses) and really allowed me to concentrate on the important things at the time like my family. She always listened to me and worked har ...

“We would like to thank Kim for her help in assisting us with our home purchase. We had a very compressed timeline for buying our home and Kim was very helpful in making our home buying process go very smoothly in a very short time by coordinating the services of mortgage broker, lawyer and home inspector for us. She was always available to answer our questions or concerns. We would definite ...

“My wife and I wish to thank you for the excellent service you provided on selling our house in a very professional manner. Your recommendations on comparables in our area was most appreciated. In difficult times when new home builders are giving many $$$ in bonuses to get the sales done. Again, thank you and we will recommend you to family and friends.”
C. & D. Larose – Sellers

“Kim was a pleasure to deal with. She is kind, curteous and quick to respond to any questions or concerns. Within less than a week, Kim was able to find and vet the tenants for my condo. She also handled all the paperwork and amendments in a timely manner. I highly recommend Kim to anyone looking for a highly dedicated real estate agent.”
J. Liu & W. Lim – Landlords

“I wish to commend Kim Vo of Royal LePage Team Realty at having done an exceptional job of preparing my home for sale. She skillfully advised me on the best asking price which resulted in a final sale price that far exceeded my expectations. Thank you for your responsible manner and guidance whilst representing me.”
B. Caldwell – Seller

“Thank you very much Kim, You made my purchasing as stress free as possible and help me with everything to make this property mine. I couldn’t have asked for a better Realtor. Thank you for everything!!”
M. Garrison – Buyer

“Kim is awesome! I had a unique property that was listed a few times but Kim came in and made it happen. She’s very professional but fun to work with and she’s very prompt at responding to calls or texts which is great to see despite her busy schedule. She also took the time to clean up the place and made the house way more presentable than I could’ve ever done. Thank you for getting the jo ...

“When I decided to sell my house in April I was planning to get a few Agents in to provide me with the market value of my home. After meeting Kim, I knew at that point she was the one that would sell it for me! She was energetic, very professional and arrived well prepared. She provided me with the information I needed to decide what to list my house for. A week later she had pictures t ...

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